


Bartenders Make for Good Listeners (But Sometimes You Just Need A Friend)

by layalee



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 1x17, 1x17 missing scene, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Contemplative thoughts, F/M, Felicity and Tommy totally should have met in canon, Flommy friendship, Friendship, Season 1, This popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 18:04:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4401905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layalee/pseuds/layalee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one-shot set in 1x17. What happens when Felicity confronts Oliver about being late? How will she handle the news? And will talking to Tommy Merlyn help clear up a few things?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bartenders Make for Good Listeners (But Sometimes You Just Need A Friend)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again! So this is a one-shot set in season 1 of Arrow, episode 17. It's when Helena shows up in Felicity's office with that badass crossbow. This fic includes hints of Olicity and Flommy friendship. Some lines are directly lifted from the episode (no copyright infringement intended) but I've added in my own, of course.
> 
> Arrow belongs to DC Comics and the CW. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!  
> And if there are any Grey's Anatomy fans out there, let me know if you catch a line inspired by a conversation between Meredith and Mark.

 

She didn’t know how long she lay there. It could have been a few minutes or a few hours. She couldn’t see the office clock from her horizontal position behind her desk. She didn’t really care about how long it had been since Helena cornered her, forced her to hack into the FBI, and then tied her hands and legs. She didn’t care about all that because all Felicity could think was that she had disappointed Oliver.

She tried so hard to be strong, and in some ways, she was. Her mind gave her power and skills that were crucial to their mission of saving Starling City. But her physical limitations made her a liability in the field. And while Felicity wasn’t in the field at the moment – actually she was in her QC office, which you would think would be pretty safe. I mean, how can a masked, leather-clad, cross-bow wielding woman get past security anyway? – she still felt like she had failed.

Quashing down these thoughts, she once again attempted to free herself. Grumbling to herself, she gave up her futile attempts and sent silent kudos to Oliver’s psycho ex-girlfriend – Dig’s words, not hers – for her superb rope-tying skills. There was a specific word to represent rope-tying, wasn’t there? Maybe she’d look it up later…

Snapping out of her inner ramble, Felicity hoped Oliver would get here soon. He would have heard Helena’s voice over the voice mail she had left him. She wondered what was taking him so long.

Hot tears once again streamed down her face. _Where was he?_

***

Felicity’s body ached. She was unaccustomed to being in such an uncompromising and frankly severely uncomfortable position for so long. The _tick tock_ of the office clock kept sounding, as if taunting her with the passing time.

Really, people should invent silent clocks. How many times had she had to stuff her bedside clock beneath a pile of clothes just to silence it so she could fall asleep? It would be a good suggestion to make to the Applied Sciences Division of QC. Maybe when she got out of here she could –

“Felicity?!”

Jolting out of her thoughts at Oliver’s frantic voice, Felicity expelled a sigh of relief and called out. “Oliver! Oliver.”

“I’m here,” he reassured her, coming around her desk and kneeling down next to her body ; he cut the tie holding her wrists together in one swift movement.

Moving down to her feet, he asked in a rough voice, “You okay?”

Giving out a small sob, she tried sitting up, jerking back in surprise when Oliver’s hand met her cheek.

“Hey, hey. You okay?”

She nodded, her hand coming up to envelop his wrist – well, it was too large to fully envelop, but she held on to what she could. Oliver came to help her. She was okay.

Quicker than she could blink, Oliver was on his feet, his arm coming up to point his knife at her office door. Seeing Dig and his outstretched arm, Oliver lowered his arm.

“I got your call,” Dig said, breathing heavily. “What happened?”

“Helena,” Oliver growled out, making her shiver.

“She wanted the address to the safehouse where her father’s being kept. She made me hack the FBI database,” Felicity’s eyes clouded with shame. “I’m sorry Oliver.”

“Hey,” he said, his hand coming out to grip her upper arm, “It’s not your fault,” he said sincerely.

Lingering on for a second, Oliver made sure his words registered with Felicity before moving away. Felicity’s heart clenched at the loss of contact.

“Oliver, what are you gonna do?” Dig questioned.

Oliver’s voice, when it came out between his clenched teeth, was like unforgiving steel. “What I should have done in the first place.”

Felicity stilled, her eyes cutting to Oliver’s. She saw his own move to look at her for a split-second, but then he was gone, leaving Felicity and Diggle in the suddenly cold office.

***

Sitting on her chair in the foundry, facing her computers, Felicity frowned. Tonight’s mission wasn’t exactly a success, but it wasn’t a failure either. Oliver stopped Helena, but she got away. And Detective Hall got hurt in the process.

Looking around her, Felicity recalled earlier when Oliver had easily dismissed her from the foundry when she came in and found him, Dig and Helena there. She wasn’t going to lie, it stung in a way that surprised her. Although perhaps she should try to be less surprised by how Oliver could, well, surprise her.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she heard Oliver descend down the stairs. Swiveling around to see him, Felicity asked, “How’s Detective Hall?”

Turning weary eyes to her, Oliver replied, “She’s moving away to be with her sister while she goes to rehab.”

“Oh,” Felicity said, drumming her fingers on the table. “I’m sorry.”

Swiveling back to face her computers when she got no reply, she let Oliver be while he moved over to grab his workout clothes.

Gathering up the nerve to ask a question that had been circling her mind since she left that voice mail, Felicity said in an unexpectedly steady voice, “Where were you?”

The sound of movement stopped entirely behind her. Taking a deep breath, Felicity stood up and looked at Oliver, who appeared frozen.

He knew what she meant. She could see it in his eyes. He knew she was asking him why he was late.

Taking a few steps closer to him, she waited him out.

Seeming to struggle for words, Oliver swallowed hard before opening his mouth. “I… I was with McKenna.”

Oh.

“When you say _with_ …” she let her words trail off, the implication needing no further clarification.

His jaw clenched and his eyes flashed with something fierce. “Yes,” he ground out, as if the word was forcibly ripped from his throat.

Oh. He was with McKenna. He was _with_ McKenna.

Her stomach clenched and bile rose in her throat. She didn’t know why, but his words didn’t settle well with her. At all.

“Oh. I… see.” Felicity’s voice sounded flat even to her own ears.

“Felicity, I–”

She suddenly didn’t want to hear it. Whatever he had to say, however he was going to explain his way out of this, she just couldn’t deal with it. It wasn’t that he was with another woman – wait, no, not _another_ , because of course she’s not an option – it was that she had needed him and he wasn’t there. He was late.

Whirling around, she grabbed her bag and jacket from where they were laying beside her computers. Giving the latter a cursory glance to make sure the updates she had started were up and running, she grabbed her phone and pocketed it.

“I, uh, I’m gonna head home. Long day and all. Thank you for…” she swallowed, throat clogging up. “Thank you for today. I know I can always count on you.”

He flinched. Too late, she realized her genuine words could be misconstrued as a jab. To soften the unintentional blow, Felicity gave Oliver a small smile – that was all she could manage – and headed for the stairs.

His voice stopped her at the base of the stairs. “Felicity, I–”

Turning back when he didn’t continue, she looked at him expectantly. “Yes, Oliver?”

He looked at her for a long moment, a war raging on his face. He opened his mouth, and for a second she yearned to hear what he had to say. Then he closed it, scrubbed a rough hand over his weary face, then said, “Goodnight, Felicity.”

Felicity’s heart plummeted. “Goodnight, Oliver,” she returned softly.

***

She was going to head home. That was her plan when she went up the stairs of the foundry and entered the empty club. But then flashes of the day went through her mind – a pretty crappy day, if you asked her – and she just gravitated towards the bar.

Sitting on a stool, she contemplated grabbing a glass from behind the counter and pouring herself a well-deserved portion of red wine.

Before she could come to a decision, Tommy Merlyn appeared from the corner door at the end of the bar. Startling when she saw him, she clumsily fell off the stool, grabbing the edge of the bar to stop her from landing on her butt.

Straightening, she stood up, a flush covering her face.

“Are you okay?” Tommy asked, coming around a bar and standing next to her, his arm half outstretched towards her.

“Yup, peachy,” she replied, then cringed. Who even said peachy anymore?

Studying her for a long moment, Tommy declared, “You look like you need a drink.”

Surprised, Felicity looked up at him. “You’re not going to throw me out? It is after hours…”

Tommy grinned, his blue eyes alight with humor. “Oh, I don’t think so. I mean, after I didn’t throw you out the dozen or so other times I’ve seen you sneak in and out of here, doing it now would be a bit redundant, don’t you think?”

Felicity froze, panic overtaking her. _Did he know…?_

Leaning down to whisper conspiratorially in her ear, Tommy said, “I’ll let you in on a little secret. Oliver’s not that great a liar. There’s only so many times I’ll buy his story that you’re here to fix the internet routers.”

Leaning back away from her, Tommy looked at her with no judgment.

“So you know that I…” Felicity let her words trail off, biting her lower lip.

“Work for him?” he finished her sentence. “Yeah. Known for a while.”

Felicity harrumphed and muttered, “Work _with_ him…”

The twinkle in Tommy’s eyes told her he heard her.

Giving a low chuckle, he steered her back to her seat, nudging her to sit down. Disappearing behind the bar for a few moments, he came back with two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.

When Felicity saw the label, her eyes bugged out. She looked at Tommy questioningly.

He shrugged. “The occasion calls for it, don’t you think?”

Ah yes, Helena had targeted him as well. After a moment, Felicity nodded, and Tommy proceeded to uncork the bottle and poured both of them some delicious looking red wine.

“So,” he started, waiting until after she took her first sip to continue. “Wanna talk about it?”

Tracing the rim of her glass with her pinkie finger, Felicity replied, “Isn’t it usually the bartender’s job to listen to his customer’s woes?”

Tommy grinned down at her. “I can stand behind the bar, if it’ll make you feel better.”

Giving off a low laugh, Felicity shook her head. “You’re good here.”

Taking a deep breath, she contemplated what to say. “Do you even know my name?” she suddenly asked, straightening up.

Tommy cocked a brow and for a second, his expression made him look so similar to Oliver that her heart skipped a beat. “Felicity Smoak. Of course I know your name.”

Raising a brow in a silent question, she waited for Tommy to elaborate.

Huffing out a breath, he continued, “I make it my business to know all that happens in my club.” Giving her a sly grin, he said, “And Oliver talks about you.”

Felicity froze, her heart thudding a furious tempo. “He does?”

“Yup,” he said, popping the _p._

“What uh… What does he say?”

His expression became serious for a moment, and when he replied, his voice was sincere. “It’s not so much _what_ he says as _how_ he says it. You make him smile. For post-island Oliver, that’s a big deal.”

Felicity held Tommy’s gaze for a moment longer, before dropping her eyes to her glass, resuming the task of tracing the rim. “Hmmm.”

For a few minutes, they sat in surprisingly comfortable silence. Then Felicity spoke up. “Do you know what happened today?”

Tommy gave her a long look. “Yeah. Oliver filled me in.”

Turning surprised eyes to him, Felicity voiced a silent question with a cocked eyebrow.

Tommy shrugged. “I think he felt guilty about what Helena did to me and all. And I haven’t exactly forgiven him for the whole, you know, _green_ stuff. I guess he’s trying to redeem himself by being honest.”

“He’s a good man,” Felicity defended quietly. Even if she was angry and hurt, she would never deny that about Oliver Queen.

Tommy tipped his glass in her direction. “You seem to know him better than I these days.”

Felicity flushed and made a noncommittal sound.

“So,” Tommy continued, “Continue with your woes.”

For a moment, Felicity contemplated the outcome of opening up to Tommy. But then she decided she didn’t care about the consequences. She needed to talk, to vent, and he was offering her a listening ear. So she opened her mouth and told him about her night. She told him about being asked to leave the foundry, she told him about Helena targeting her, she told him about how she felt, being forced to give her the location she wanted. And she told him about Oliver being with McKenna when she needed him.

And Tommy sat there and listened.

***

Felicity thought she might feel awkward talking to Tommy about Oliver. After all, he was Oliver’s best friend, who knew him before the island and knew about his green secret. But shockingly enough, Felicity felt comfortable opening up.

Despite his playboy reputation, Tommy Merlyn had some pretty good insight.

When she told him about being kicked out of the foundry, he gave her a contemplative look and said, “He wasn’t trying to exclude you, Felicity. I think he was trying to protect you.”

Felicity snorted. “I can take care of myself. It’s my life, it’s my choice.”

Tommy smiled. “Yes but you know Oliver. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He thinks everyone around him is his responsibility and if they get hurt, then it’s his fault.”

Felicity huffed in irritation. “Well, I don’t want him to carry my weight on his shoulders. Unless he’s giving me a piggy-back ride, then maybe.” Seeing the mirth in Tommy’s eyes, she quickly backpedaled. “Not that I _want_ him to give me a piggy-back ride. Or that Oliver is the kind of guy to randomly give IT girls piggy-back rides. Why is it even called a piggy-back ride? Do pigs often give rides on their backs?”

Unable to contain his laugh, Tommy wiped tears of humor from his eyes.

Felicity flushed. “I uh, ramble sometimes.”

Tommy grinned. “I noticed.”

***

When Felicity finished relaying the events of the day and night, Tommy sat in silence for a long while. She let him think, knowing he was mulling things over due to the furrow of his brows.

Finally, he turned to her, and what he told her would stay with her for a long time, echoing in her head, taunting her with its hidden meaning.

“Oliver didn’t go after Helena until she pursued you. Interesting, don’t you think?”

Felicity stilled, her eyes growing wide. She didn’t say anything, and Tommy didn’t ask for a reply.

***

Nearing four a.m., Felicity stood from the bar, suppressing a yawn. Tommy turned to watch her gather her things. Once she had everything in hand, she turned to him and smiled.

“Thank you, Tommy, for tonight. It’s been… enlightening.”

Tipping his head in her direction, he replied cheekily, “Anytime you need a bartender to listen to you woes, I’m your guy.”

Her smile grew wider and softer. “How about when I need a friend to listen to my woes?”

He stilled for a moment, before a grin overtook his face. “Then I’d definitely be your guy.”

Felicity left Verdant with twinkling eyes and a soft smile gracing her face.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to read what you think so feel free to comment or offer constructive criticism. Thanks for reading! Kudos are always appreciated as well ;)


End file.
